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The partners of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance (AOA) today said that the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) missed an historic opportunity due to blocking by Russia and the Ukraine again to protect key Antarctic marine habitats at its annual meeting in Hobart calling into question its ability to deliver on its conservation commitments.

The 24 nations and the EU that make up CCAMLR had two proposals for the Ross Sea andEast Antarctic coastal region on the table but, like the body’s special meeting in Germany inJuly, Russia and Ukraine actively blocked the two proposals, with China withdrawing support forthe East Antarctic proposal.

“Sadly, although most CCAMLR Members were ready to move forward to designate significantmarine protection here, Russia and the Ukraine once again blocked all efforts to negotiate anoutcome,” said Jim Barnes, Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition(ASOC). “We applaud the hard work of the United States, New Zealand, Australia, the EuropeanUnion and France over the last three years to promote solid Antarctic marine protectedproposals in Antarctica.”

“The question of whether CCAMLR can deliver on its conservation mandate is in very seriousdoubt after another disappointing failure at this year’s meeting,” said Steve Campbell, AOACampaign Director. “CCAMLR does not meet again for another year, and each meeting withoutdesignating marine protection diminishes hopes that CCAMLR can meet its importantcommitments.”

"What we have witnessed over the last few years is the steady erosion of the spirit and mandateof CCAMLR to conserve our last intact ocean ecosystem remaining on earth,” said FarahObaidullah, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner. “This year's failure denigrates thereputation of CCAMLR and is symptomatic of a dangerous global trend where corporate andpolitical interests override any genuine efforts to protect the oceans for the sake of futuregenerations."

"Many of the Asian countries with fishing interests in the Southern Ocean have been supportiveof establishing MPAs in Antarctica waters so it is a great disappointment that we are comingaway from CCAMLR again with no agreement,” said Yuri Onodera of Friends of the Earth Japan.“All nations need to realise the critical importance of large-scale ocean protection if we are toensure healthy oceans for our collective future."

"This is a dark day not just for the Antarctic, but for the world's oceans,” said Andrea Kavanagh,director of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Southern Ocean sanctuaries project. “This was the international community’s third attempt to protect some of the most pristine ocean areas onEarth, but self interest got in the way once again. The scientific basis to create these reserves isoverwhelming. The stubborn self interest of a few should not be allowed to deny the will of themajority of countries around the world.”

The two marine protection area (MPA) proposals that CCAMLR failed to pass were a US andNew Zealand proposal for a Ross Sea MPA of 1.32 million km2 with a 1.25 million km2 area notakezone, and a proposal from Australia, France and the EU for an East Antarctic MPA networkof 1.6 million km2 in which future fishing activities would have to be approved by consensus.The Southern Ocean is home to more than 10,000 unique species including most of the world’spenguins, whales, seabirds, colossal squid and the remarkable Antarctic toothfish – the maintarget of fishing companies in the region. The Southern Ocean is a crucial area for scientificresearch, both for studying how intact marine ecosystems function and for determining theimpacts of global climate change.

More than 1.3 million people around the world have joined the global call for large-scale marineprotection in Antarctica over the last three years and thousands have taken action through online petitions, social media and email’s to key world leaders to call for protection.

The Antarctic Ocean Alliance partners will continue to press the countries failing to supportSouthern Ocean marine protected areas and will attend the next CCAMLR meeting in Hobart in2014 to ensure that CCAMLR delivers on its conservation commitments. The AOA has identifiedaround 40% of the Southern Ocean that warrants protection.